Mortals and the Unnatural!
by HopesTweet
Summary: All life is not equal, that was the undeniable truth. What will a simple human do if he's thrown into a unfamiliar world where only the strong survive? A Shantae Self-Insert Fanfiction. Rated M for language and mature themes
1. Chapter 1

**Greetings! I am HopesTweet, here to present to you a...experiment of sorts, a specific genre of fanfiction that has been unfamiliar to the Shantae archive. This whole thing started out as an idea which escalated into...This.**

 **This is a self-insert, I'm just gonna warn you in case if you're not a fan of those.**

 **Disclamer: I don't own the Shantae series, and if I did, that would suck for everyone.**

* * *

So when I was younger, I had always feared the "Unknown."

I was always that kid who saw things that weren't there, but that could be said for a lot of kids. But I was also the one that most people overlooked, and didn't really care about.

That hasn't really changed all that much nowadays, so because of that, I became what some people call... A social outcast at school and such. I never really interacted with anyone unless it was for a project or if it was necessary for a passing grade.

I was always that kid who kept to himself, so I started to steer towards media for comfort. Video games, and comic books, novels, manga, movies, anime. Those were the things that I was attracted to. I wasn't athletic enough for sports, and I'm not smart enough to be an honours student.

I was basically a nerd who kept to himself, and would've probably been a waste to society after high school. But fortunately, and also unfortunately, I wasn't able to pass high school after grade nine, because...I'm dead.

Yup, kicked the bucket, bit the dust, and some other term that means that I'm dead. And how did I die, you nonexistent people may ask? Well, you see, I was murdered.

I lost my life, because I tried to play hero one time, it was a robbery, at the local comic shop at my town that I go to every Saturday.

Why did I do it? Why pretend that I'm something that I'm not? Well, I can think of an answer.

Because I _wanted_ to be remembered. I _craved_ for the attention of others. I wanted to have stories told about me for countless ages by those of tomorrow. I still remember what happened...

 _"What are you doing here_?! You need to _run_! Quickly Run!". I still remember the way she had yelled at me, her face a contortion of emotions. There was pain, suffering, determination and downright horror at the fact that she had a gun near her head. But...I couldn't just leave her there, and soon my legs began to run towards the man with the gun. She was right, I shouldn't have been there. It was too late, as the man shot me point blank. I was losing my vision, as all I saw was red. And I felt a massive headache. Everything was swirling, it looked wrong, it FELT wrong.

 _Someone help me... Someone help me... I don't want to die... Mommy..._

The pain was unbearable, my body just went numb except for my head, it felt like it was splitting in half. I couldn't handle it, I couldn't live anymore.

Then it all...Faded...To black.

Yeah, dying sucks.

It sucks in varying degrees for different people and for me...it really sucked.

When some people die they do it peacefully with smiles on their faces seeing an end to their pain, others are gone like the light of their lives have been flicked off by a switch and some teeter on the brink for a time to watch and wonder if they'll come back from the edge of the precipice or slip away with a hellish inevitability.

In case you can't tell yet I fell into the last category.

I don't remember how it happened but I found myself drifting (floating? suspended?) within a void lit only by the guttering flame of my life-force. Vague sounds and a distant pain filtered down from the light and I grasped at both with equal desperation, these sensations were my only path back to the world of light and life.

'Was this...Heaven? Or...Purgatory, perhaps?'

As soon as I thought that, the void began to burst with colour. So much, that I had to forcefully close my eyes for a while, but then, I heard a voice. A woman's voice...

"How strange, a human? How can a mere human be in the Genie realm? Especially a male?"

Genie Realm? Is that what this...Place, is? And apparently, the person that was speaking to me was sexist towards men.

I think, can't judge her so quickly, I mean...Wait, is this a dream or something? And if this is, then everything makes SO MUCH SENSE!

"Um, excuse me." I said, trying to be polite to the voice that I was speaking to. "I have NO idea how I got here, and I was wondering if you can help me."

"Hmm...It seems that you have somehow arrived here with no idea how." Yeah, that's what I just said. She then continued."Human, I will send you back to your world."

And after that, my legs began to feel numb, but then I couldn't feel anything. Soon, it was happening to my arms, and then the rest of my body.

I was fading, or what I thought, was that it was finally time to wake up.

From this weird as heck, dream...Oh I wished, but when I woke up, it wasn't what I was expecting. I felt...fine, not hurt, but...Ok.

I laid on my stomach for who knows how long, taking in oxygen by the pint. I was very still though, and kept my eyelids opened. I didn't know if was safe yet. But after being still a bit longer, fear soon dissolved into confusion. Is there a hole in my head still...? Minutes ticked away and soon the fear and danger of death blew away too. but how did I know? What if it was a trick?

 _On the count of three, I'll get up._ That sounded reasonable, I could go with that.

So I waited.

 _One..._ Please God, don't dick with me! — _Two...—_ I really don't want to that to happen! _—Three!_

Open eyes, roll off my front, sit up! I did this all in a second. I wasn't dead. That's a good sign! I felt my face. Nothing on it! Felt my heart. It was beating! I felt my arms, legs, chest, stomach, back, and feet! Nothing was missing! I was ok!

I hopped to my feet and slowly began to laugh. It came out small at first, as a soft chuckle, but like a reservoir of water chuckles became laughs that turned into full-on hysteria of tears and guffaws. I was jumping and sprinting in circles like some crack head that had just gone through his favorite pastime.

 _I'm alive! I'm alive! Oh thank you God! Thank you Jesus! Thank you God! Thank you—Thank You—thank you!_

But then, after the adrenaline wore off, I started noticing my surroundings and I startled on a terrifying discovery.

"THIS ISN'T A HOSPITAL, IT'S A FOREST!"

Breath in… Breath out.

Breath in… breath out.

Breath in… Breathe _in_ … _Breathing wasn't helping!_

My mouth opened and I gaped like a fish before shutting it. It opened again before closing. Lather, rinse, repeat, and I did this ten more times.

I-I-I-I couldn't handle this! I've sure no one could handle this! At this point I could not comprehend what was going on! My brain was completely fried I'll have you know! So I did the only thing that I could do to help voice my feelings.

"WHAT THE ACTUAL FUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!"

* * *

Morning over Sequin dawning sun shone on an old lighthouse not far from Scuttle town. Inside the lighthouse, a young girl who had purple hair styled in a long mane was a half genie, her name was Shantae who was the daughter of a mortal man and a long gone Genie guardian.

You see, long ago, guardian genies protected Sequin Land from all kinds of monsters and enemies.

During those peaceful times, many of these genies fell in love with mortal men. The resulting offspring were all girls, seemingly human but with a trace of magical power, often lying dormant or manifesting in unusual ways. Thus Half-genies came into the world. One such genie wound up being Shantae's mother. However, the genies vanished to the Genie Realm. The place where Genies reside and where they originate.

So half-genies organized to take on the responsibilities of their mothers, often calling themselves Guardian Genies.

And that's what Shantae is, she is the current guardian of Scuttle town. As she was currently resting, a pirate ship, sailing on the sea. Which decided to fire a cannonball into the Lighthouse's roof. Shantae peeked outside of her window, around her was her roof. Unfortunately her little house, was not cannonball proof. The cannonball destroyed most of the roof and landed on her bedroom. In her shock, she yelled to no one but herself. "What? Another pirate attack? I better warn the town about this!"

And with that, she ran to the town she swore to protect, Ret-2-Go...

* * *

 **And that concludes the first chapter of my Shantae Self insert fanfic, which I will name... "Mortals, and the unnatural!"**

 **By the way, this takes place during the events of the first game, just so you know.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Greetings! And welcome back to "Mortals and the Unnatural!" Where we last left off, our nameless protagonist has found himself in a mysterious forest after encountering a Genie from, you guessed it. The Genie Realm, and right at the same time when the Half-Genie guardian Shantae discovers that pirates are attacking Scuttle Town!**

 **A.N: I've been having a hard time trying to come up with a name for the Self-Insert character. So I decided to ask YOU, the readers of this fanfic, to come up with a name for our nameless friend here! Just leave a review stating what name should he have, and if there's one I like, or agree with. Then that name would be chosen, seems pretty simple!**

* * *

I can honestly say that I've never really been a fan of surprises. The occasional good surprise was fine, even welcome, but 95% of the time surprises are the herald of something bad happening. By their very nature they caught you off guard and left you scrambling to find a solution to a problem that you weren't expecting.

But even taking that into consideration, this was something on a entirely different level. I was so surprised by what I was seeing that my mind felt as though it was filled with static and my body felt numb. Absently I noted that I was showing symptoms of going into shock, but I couldn't bring myself to care. Because my attention was focused on something more important.

Like how, how did I end up inside THIS. FUCKING. FOREST!

Okay, okay breathe in… Breath out.

Breath in… breath out.

Breath in… Breathe _in_ … _Breathing wasn't helping!_

Wait, I already did this before...Well shit.

I'm in a forest, a forest with green trees that went on for miles! Mountains as far as the eyes—my eyes, could see! I could hear crickets making their music, and bird cry out in the distance! Birds and crickets!

I then realized that this was real in some way, and that standing here would accomplish nothing. So, I started to walk to the right, hoping to find civilians, or maybe a town. So that maybe, I can find out where I was. I simply walked towards a straight path, but then I encountered something that, from my perspective, was out of this world.

OH GOD, WHAT WAS THAT?!

Was that...Some kind of Spider? It only had six limbs, and it's body was way too circular to be natural. Holy crap, it only has ONE EYE?! That is not natural, this...Thing!

I couldn't do much, only fall backwards and scream as I became the frightened child that lay beneath the surface of my psyche.

I couldn't see! Why couldn't I see anything?! It felt like something fuzzy was plastered across my— _ **IT WAS ON MY FACE!**_

But there was no one around here, except for me and the thing from hell that was on my face. So in my panic, I started to act...Worried. Well, to put it lightly somewhat in a sense. I hopelessly thrashed about, clawing at the beast on my face! But luckily, I got it out, threw on the ground. And without hesitation, smashed it with my foot.

OH THANK GOD, THAT FUZZY FURBY KNOCKOFF FROM SATAN'S DOMAIN THAT WAS ATTACHED MY FACE WAS GONE!

After celebrating my small victory, I looked down in horror, seeing the dead creature underneath my shoe, it's blood covering the shoe that I used to kill it. As I got away from it, a red footprint appearing on the ground each time I took a step. Just what was that thing? It's very existence was extremely unnatural to the laws of nature. But then I remembered what happened before I woke up in this forest.

* * *

 _I don't remember how it happened but I found myself drifting (floating? suspended?) within a void lit only by the guttering flame of my life-force. Vague sounds and a distant pain filtered down from the light and I grasped at both with equal desperation, these sensations were my only path back to the world of light and life._

 _'Was this...Heaven? Or...Purgatory, perhaps?'_

 _As soon as I thought that, the void began to burst with colour. So much, that I had to forcefully close my eyes for a while, but then, I heard a voice. A woman's voice..._

 _"How strange, a human? How can a mere human be in the Genie realm? Especially a male?"_

 _Genie Realm? Is that what this...Place, is? And apparently, the person that was speaking to me was sexist towards men._

 _I think, can't judge her so quickly, I mean...Wait, is this a dream or something? And if this is, then everything makes SO MUCH SENSE!_

* * *

'Oh yeah! That's right, I remember now! That...Place, it was called The Genie Realm, was it? So this means that I'm actually still dreaming, even though I thought that I wasn't. Hmmm...'

So, maybe I'm actually inside a hospital, recovering from that incident. And that this whole thing is just me dreaming while I'm healing...I think, no, I believe that!

And with my new found determination and confidence. I got up and continued trekking towards the straight path to the right. Leading to the unknown and the unfamiliar territory.

Soon, I encountered a statue of a small old man to my confusion, I mean, why is he so short? And why is there a statue in the middle of a forest?

I walked towards the statue in hesitation, not wanting another incident with the spider like creature that attacked him. But when he got to the statue, there was no plate with a description or anything, I even thought that it was a person pretending to be a statue, like those attractions in the local park back home. But it was just a random statue, and for a moment, I thought I saw sparkles around it.

"Man, this is one weird as hell dream... Something straight outta Legend of Zelda! Or some other video game."

After saying that, my mind immediately thought that this dream was about a video game, considering how that Spider looked like a enemy FROM a video game... But from what game, exactly?

'It's right at the tip of my tongue, but what? It'll probably come to me overtime anyway...'

* * *

She should've known something like this would happen.

Shantae felt despair, having being fooled by the vile tricks of Risky Boots, the terror of the seven seas. As she came to Scuttle Town trying to steal her Uncle Mimic's new Steam Engine. And now the evil pirate was coming for the three items needed to activate the device. Sometimes Shantae wishes that she was a real genie, and maybe then she could really teach Risky a lesson.

But for now, the only thing she could do was to use her hair as a weapon, which was not much in defeating monsters. Especially in the nighttime, where they become stronger and have more defense.

But she had a mission to do, and she was 'Ret-2-Go" as the people in Scuttle Town like to say, but first she had to visit the old man to save her progress. You know, I wonder about that guy, I mean, who is he? What's his name? What does saving your progress mean anyway?

Those were some of the random thoughts that the half-Genie had while she heading off to Water Town looking for her friend Bolo. 'What was that Goofball doing there anyway?' She thought as she was in the local garden, where Scuttle Town grows it's food for its inhabitants. Perhaps when she gets there, she'll ask him about it.

'Next was through the forest and the mountains, of I'm quick enough, I'll get there in just half an hour! Then I'll take a quick dip in the local bathhouse, talk to Bolo and find the...Water...Tablet? Stone? Key? I know what it looks like, the name will just come to me eventually.'


	3. Chapter 3

**It's now been decided thanks to Darkus1204, that the main character's name will be Jack, it's simple and nice. And thanks for the constructive criticism, I really appreciate it. Now, when we last left off, Jack found himself in a mysterious forest, and after a encounter with a bizarre creature. He believes that he is simply dreaming while he's recovering from the incident. At least, that's what he thinks...**

* * *

(Jack's POV)

After I passed the statue, I found that the forest was apparently short, as there was a pathway with stones through a stream of water. As I hear the swish sound of the water running over rocks, I sat down on the grass and put my feet in the water, seeing the dried up blood from the monster from before, wash off.

"You know, this is actually kinda relaxing honestly." I said to myself as I can feel my feet getting wet. Man, this dream world looks and feels so real, it's amazing. My imagination is so awesome to be able to come up with this. I then took a look at the stream, seeing my reflection.

I see a skinny white kid who was an inch away from being six feet; I was so tantalizingly close. My eyebrows were thin, and my blue eyes always had bags under them, which was my fault because I always stayed up late. The most normal thing about my appearance was my black hair which is neat and short but not buzzed. With bangs that are slightly uneven and long, just touching my eyebrows.

My clothes looked like the ones I was wearing back then, a blue jacket with long sleeves and noir coloured sweatpants, and Nike brand shoes.

'Hmm...I look exactly the same as I did before...That's actually kinda lame. But then again, if my appearance was any different, then I wouldn't recognize myself.'

Having said that, I got up and continued on to my unknown destination, in this adventure I made for myself. The path that the stones made lead to a place that was simply beautiful. It was a waterfall, but it wasn't any waterfall. I saw a mountain which was so large, that there were a bunch of tree branches on it. All of them looked exactly identical. It was like you can actually climb them or something.

The water itself was a clear Atlantis **-** blue and it was gushing over the rocks. At its widest point, it was surging and plunging down the mountain. It had a beautiful serenity **-** pool at the bottom. It was veneer clear. The waterfall flowed as smoothly as syrup. And from afar, I could hear frogs croaking nearby added to the wonderful sounds.

I then tried to grab a handful of water with my hand, so I bended my knees while on the stone. But I lost balance and fell down, but for some reason, I wasn't sinking or anything. At first, I thought that it was because the water wasn't that deep. But then I remembered the tall mountains and the amount of water that was gushing. So I tried to get up and I succeeded, so to confirm my suspicions I put my hand beneath the water and to my shock, it went in. But my feet was just ON the water, so I came to the most sensible conclusion.

I can stand on water.

I can stand on water.

I CAN STAND ON WATER.

I CAN STAND ON MOTHERFUCKING WATER.

HOLY SHIT!

'I'm standing on water, this is amazing, I'm freaking Jesus. Or Percy Jackson or something, or- - or - -Holy crap, I can stand on water! But, but wait, if I can stand on water, then does that mean...'

With carefulness, I attempted to walk on water, I was able to take another step, and another, and another, soon it turned into walks, then runs, and sprints around the waterfall.

"Woo-hoo, yeah!" I was constantly yelling out in excitement as I jumped over the stones again once more causing a huge splash. Could anything be more amazing than this? Wait, of course it can! It's my dream after all... I wonder what else can I think of?

I looked towards the pathway that the stones were leading to, and it's heading towards...Some kind of town? How did I not notice that before?

'Oh wait, I was too busy noticing that I can walk on water! And speaking of water...'

It was only then when I realized I was completely dry. Not even my clothes were soaked, and I must've been fooling around in here for at least a couple of minutes.

"Well, that's convenient, but it's probably gonna make washing my clothes a lot more difficult."

"What other powers do I possess? Time to find out!" And with that, I went to the town wondering what will await me next in this amazing dream.

* * *

Shantae's pony-tail came in handy in disposing of these monsters, but even that's not enough, plus it takes too much time to defeat them, and she has to get to Water Town and stop Risky Boots. As the only way to get through these enemies quickly was through the vanish cream from the town's shop.

"Geez, at least I have my items or else this would go on forever!" Shantae muttered in annoyance as she continued on forward.

After she gone through the labyrinthine forest, she ended up on the waterfall mountains, which to Shantae, was the only way to get to Water Town, that her friend Bolo showed her.

Shantae then climbed from branch to branch until she got to the bottom, she noticed a sign that said that Water Town is nearby.

The town that is ancient and built of stone with pillars, and according to legend was built by a race of beautiful aquatic peoples in ancient times (which, as one resident said when she was there once, "explains all the pillars and junk").

And so, Shantae had finally reached her destination.

Water Town.

At last, she would find her friend Bolo there who knew about the _Dribble Stone_ Risky Boots was looking for.

'Oh wait, that was it! I knew it'll come to me!'

* * *

 **Here's another chapter for you all! It was pretty hard writing this one, considering how hard it was to describe the environments in the game. So there had to be some liberties taken. But then again, that's to be expected, also the reason why Jack and Shantae went to Water Town via different area, was because Jack was in a part of the forest that lead to a different path.**

 **Also, about Jack's powers:**

 **When Jack found himself in the Genie Realm, he was affected with it's magical essence, and thus he became the first male half-genie.**

 **And unlike Shantae, who's powers are about shape-shifting, Jack's powers are about bending reality. For reference, I'll list off all his abilities and what emotion triggers them.**

 **Walking on Water= Happiness/Joy**

 **Flying= Engagement/Confidence**

 **Super Strength= Anger/Sadness**

 **I didn't want to make him a Gary Stu, but I don't want him to be weak. So I'm trying to find a suitable compromise. So if it seems that something like that is happening in the story, I want you to tell me with a review.**


	4. Chapter 4

**So I just finished Half-Genie Hero and I gotta say this. It's a really good game but I thought it was a regression of the Shantae Formula, with how it got rid of the much better equipment from Pirate's Curse. And the loss of Dungeons, which were basically a stable of the series since the first game.**

 **Plus the whole game felt...Incomplete. When it comes to story AND gameplay, I know that there will be DLC with extra stories and characters, but if you weren't a backer, then you have to pay money for the DLC, which to me, felt a little bit unfair considering that Shovel Knight's DLC was totally free.**

 **But that's just totally my opinion, and anyway, enough of me, let's focus on the story.**

* * *

Bolo was simply standing in his favourite place, his gazebo in Water Town. As he distracts himself by using his signature weapon, the ball and chain. Practicing with it, by repeating a similar motion to a certain half-genie's hair whipping. But as he did that, his mind wondered over to his best friend since childhood; Shantae.

Thinking of her simply made his face turn into a shade of red and his heart begin to beat faster. Why did he have these feelings for her? He always saw her as like a sister, ever since they were little. Perhaps it was obvious, considering how he've been close to her for a long time, so it was inevitable for something like this to happen.

But does she feel the same way? Bolo wishes he could go from being her friend to her boyfriend, he felt he had no shot with her. He had convinced himself that a slow-witted, plain guy like him could never be good enough for a dynamic, amazing, and gorgeous girl like Shantae. He would always hear the same thing over and over again.

Her beautiful voice constantly berating him for his mistakes and foolishness, as much as he secretly enjoyed it, he also disdains it. Because it's basically undeniable proof that she doesn't feel the same way.

 _Who are you actually kidding here Bolo?"_ he asked himself mentally. _"A moron like you with a girl like her? Pfft. Get real, you would have a better chance with Risky Boots!"_

Perhaps he should just accept the fact that she doesn't love him, and stop trying to chase something you can't catch. And maybe look for someone else...Like Risky Boots! After all, the residents of Water Town just got a visit from her, and you know, for a pirate, she was pretty polite in asking where the fountain was.

As Bolo sat there, lost in his own thoughts, he didn't even notice someone walking up behind him. He felt a finger tap him on the shoulder, shaking him from his thoughts and making him turn himself towards the source of the tapping, only to find Shantae herself.

"Hi Bolo, I knew I'd find you around here, there's a big emergency in Scuttle Town!"

* * *

(Jack's POV)

'What a odd looking fountain, it kinda looks like a one-eyed monster or something.'

The term "One-eyed monster" quickly gave me a quick shutter remembering that uncomfortable experience with that spider in the forest. Looking at the fountain itself, it seems that the water is coming from it's mouth. It also has a red jewel that is the iris for the fountain's one eye.

You know, I'm starting to think that this isn't a fountain at all, if I touch it, it'll probably come to life and attack me. But considering that this doesn't seem to be a lucid dream, it could just be anything. Hell, it could even be some sort of secret entrance to a dungeon holding some super special item.

'Maybe it is one, you know what? I'm gonna risk it, the saying goes "no pain, no gain!'

A part of me feels as if this dream is helping me improve as a person, for some strange reason. Maybe it's how I'm making all these decisions on my own?

When I touched the eye of the fountain, it felt as though it was actually made of stone. It's pretty crazy how everything in this dream looks and feels like it's real. When I pushed my hand forward, the eye moved as well. At first, I was surprised by this, thinking about my first assumption about the fountain. But as it turns out, the eye was rounded and I was simply just moving it with my hand.

And for a while, I tried to move the eye to different angles, hoping that something will happen, but eventually when I made the eye look up, the "mouth" of the fountain lowered. With no more water coming out, and a hole inside the mouth, big enough for someone get inside.

"Huh...I guess it is a secret entrance, but where does it lead I wonder?" I asked, fully knowing the answer. I then walked towards the inside to the fountain and crawled down the hole. Basically, going down that hole was basically like a rollercoaster—only wet, and with no safety belt or track.

So it was like going down a water slide, only except the fact that you land in a floating platform instead of a pool.

"Gah, my ass feels sore as hell! So what kind of dungeon is...This?"

The only way I can describe this place is water, water, pillars, water, rotating platforms, water, blue, and more water.

"GOD DAMNIT, WHY DID I END UP IN THE WATER DUNGEON OF ALL DUNGEONS!"

* * *

 **Hey guys and gals, it's me again, here with a update on my Shantae Self-Insert fanfiction "Mortals and the unnatural!" And to be honest. I'm feeling a bit burned out, and kinda uninterested in actually writing the story as of lately.**

 **And I can't really explain why I've been feeling this way when writing the new chapters. Perhaps it's just writing block, or lack of interest in the Shantae series lately after Half-Genie Hero.**

 **To be honest, this is the same reason as to why my RWBY S-I fanfic was abandoned. Same with my Skullgirls one, which I then deleted. Because honestly? That story was a giant sack of shit and I was in denial for a while about it.**

 **I considered many options, one was to just cancel production of this fanfic, or possibly just give it to someone else. Or just leave it, as it is on hiatus for the time being.**

 **And if I try to continue writing in the state that I am in now? Then the story will probably just turn out bad or no longer interesting. I don't know if the story will continue or not, but that's up to me. And I'm not in the right mood to answer that as of right now.**

 **\- HopesTweet**


End file.
